It is known that viscoelastic materials or fluids, which are also referred to as OVDs (ophthalmo-viscosurgical devices), are widely used in operative ophthalmology. In cataract operations, in which an eye lens is fragmented and aspirated and then an intraocular lens is inserted, these materials are used. During the surgical procedure, they are also injected into the eye. As a result, for example, inter alia, the stability of the anterior eye chamber is maintained. Furthermore, the material of the intraocular lens is protected by these materials, and the endothelium of the cornea is likewise protected. Furthermore, in this surgical procedure, volume is provided in the eye as a result, in order for it to be possible to remove tissue precisely and reliably.
However, once the surgical procedure has been completed, these auxiliary surgical fluids have to be removed completely from the eye again, since, if they remain in the eye, complications can arise and in particular the eye pressure can also increase undesirably.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,123,804 B2 discloses a cartridge for an intraocular lens, which has a plate-like cover arranged in a pivotable manner on a well-like part of the cartridge, the cover closing the volume of the well-like part. The cover and the well-like part form the cartridge. The intraocular lens is accommodated in the volume before it is pushed out and implanted in the eye with an injector. This cover has a hole which leads to the outside and through which, in the closed state of the cartridge, a lubricant can be introduced into the volume.
A significant drawback is that, on account of the rectilinear hole, which is small and thus not very deep along the hole axis, when the lubricant is introduced, the intraocular lens can also be damaged. The introduction normally takes place using a syringe with a needle, which is introduced into the hole. In the process, the needle can easily be introduced too far and come into contact with the intraocular lens with the result that the latter can be scratched and/or shifted. Shifting then also results in the local subsequent folding of the intraocular lens in the injector tip no longer taking place as it should during the pushing-out operation, since the starting position before folding has been changed. This can cause problems during introduction into the eye. Furthermore, in this prior art, the cartridge is formed with its cover and well-like part such that folding of the intraocular lens is made possible only in the injector tip adjoining the cartridge, and so the closing of the plate-like cover of the cartridge has no effect whatsoever on the orientation and shape of the intraocular lens in the volume.
Furthermore, US2007/0168026 discloses a cartridge for an intraocular lens, which has two parts which are pivotable relative to one another and form a receiving area for the intraocular lens in the closed state. In a rear area of the parts, and thus next to a hinge that connects the parts in a pivotable manner, a hole for introducing a lubricant is formed. In this embodiment, the problem arises that the introduction of the lubricant impedes the folding of the lens. As a result, the desired folding direction of the lens toward the hinge is significantly impaired and inhibited, such that the folded end position of the intraocular lens in the cartridge is not achieved or achieved only inadequately, this in turn being disadvantageous for the further pushing-out operation and resulting in damage to the lens or an undesired pushing-out position at the front end of the injector tip.
US2016/0250069 discloses a device for receiving an intraocular lens. In this document, a cartridge is shown which has two half-shells that are connected directly together in a pivotable manner, a wing also being formed on each of the half-shells. Between the half-shells there extends a cover, which has a cutout, through which a lubricant is feedable into a chamber in which the intraocular lens is arranged. However, the feed can take place only in the open state of the wings and thus also of the half-shells. As a result, the cover, which is fastened only on one side to only one half-shell by way of a film hinge, can be lifted and the lubricant can undesirably escape from the chamber. Furthermore, the cutout in the cover is hard to locate, and so the needle of a lubricant feed unit can also slip off. Moreover, the cutout is geometrically disadvantageous since the needle of the lubricant feed unit can be passed easily therethrough and can then damage the intraocular lens.
In US2004/0199174, a device for folding an intraocular lens and a storage system for an intraocular lens are described.